A. Field of the Invention
This relates to a dinghy, which is a vessel that is commonly found on a larger vessel. Dinghies are used to transport people and cargo from a vessel that is anchored offshore such as a sailboat to the shore. Dinghies are commonly found on the back of sailboats.
B. Prior Art
There are many other prior art references to sailboats, sailboat accessories and dinghies. Some of them are foldable dinghies. However, they do not address the space concerns that are commonplace in every sailboat. The dinghy typically is stowed on the back of a sailboat but must not exceed the width or beam of the vessel for storage reasons.
Representative examples of dinghies in the prior art include Elvestad, U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,260, Scott, U.S. Pat. No. 6,615,762, Kaye, U.S. Pat. No. 6,240,872 and Kaye, U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,085.
Both the Kaye patents fold from side to side as opposed to front to back and therefore are patentably distinct. The other devices do not have the same features as the current application.